Bees in my Thatched roof.

[Bayliss]

Busy bees have chewed a hold in the side of my thatch and are, I assume, nest building. Its a bee that I do not recognise though and having Googled I understand that 200 varieties exist. Inviting a bee keeper around today but I'm puzzled as to how a bee keeper will extract the colony. Any one else had the same predicament? No way do I want the little critters killed.

 

[JHD]

I'm not a bee expert but I thought that most wild bees tend not to nest in the same place each year. At the end of the summer the queen bee will leave the nest to find another and the workers will die, giving you an opportunity to repair any damage done.

 

[88v8]

Let them bee, they'll do no harm. Thatch is an ideal location, as it's cool and minimises the energy they'd otherwise have to waste cooling the hive.
We had bees nesting a month or so back, I thought they'd gone into the thatched attic via one of several suitable holes, alas they were under the roman tiles on the lean-to. In the mornings they were foraging, but in the afternoons when the sun got on the roof they were in the nest fanning away. Gradually, over the hot spell, the noise diminished, now they are no more. Too hot...

Last year we had wasps nesting in the wall under the bedroom window. The nest got too hot and some of the 'honey' melted and stained the wall.

Nice to know our house is an insect des res.

Ivor

 

[Bayliss]

So no bee keeper to remove them, let nature take its course.

Thank you, advise taken on board.

 

[LadyArowana]

So no bee keeper to remove them, let nature take its course.

Thank you, advise taken on board.

Bees are having a very difficult time at the moment, colony collaps etc, I hope they have a nice Summer with you and then move along to other accommodations so everyone is happy.

 

[tobydog]

We're thatched and we have an old nest in the loft space but nothing in the thatch itself. I've left the nest in place because I understand it deters others from colonising. Not sure how true that is but it appears to work. Last year we did have three wasps nests in the gardens.

Thankfully our garden has been full of bees this year. The lavendar on the south facing wall has been great and the bees are all over it. Our kitchen extension has a vaulted ceiling with one end having glass to the apex. Once we open the patio doors I end up forever catching bees, wasps, butterfies, dragonflies, hoverflies, you name it, using a large glass on the pane and sliding the paper in. I hate seeing dead bugs the following morning because they all have a purpose although I'm more reluctant to put my life on the line for a wasp :evil: . Thankfully our new pup is learning fast!

 

[CliffordPope]

We had a bees nest in the roof a few years ago. Not thatched, but in the projecting void on the far side of a chimney stack.
They seemed gentle, purposeful creatures, and they were a pleasure to host. As others have said, sadly they move on.

Wasps on the other hand are in my view unnecessarily aggresive. They sting first and ask questions later. I concede they probably have a niche in nature, but not near me, thank you.

The bats are settling in again nicely somewhere in the attic. They fled when we had some work done last year, and probably didn't like sandblasting, but I again see them around. There seem to be the usual pipistrelles, and also some bigger ones.

 

[Flyfisher]

This reminds me of a handy guide to social insects printed some years ago in Private Eye . . .

 

[Bayliss]

Took along a sample of a bee that is/was nest building in the thatch to a beekeeper. Transpires my bee is a variety of a wasp! Pest control on their way as I type.

 

[tobydog]

Not all wasps are bastards. Only the yellow and black stripey ones that eat doughnuts. Shame to kill the others.

 

[Keithj]

We got a "real man" in to paint the outside white woodwork, cos I'm busy doing other important stuff (like lime filling and beer testing).

He'd barely started before he came in and said "What do you want to do about that wasps' nest in the attic above the west gable?"
We emptied a can of someone's patent wasp and fly killer aerosol into the hole they were using as their entrance. He went off to paint elsewhere, and we'll check again tomorrow.

They didn't even ask for permission to build in there...

 

[LadyArowana]

I didn't even realise the wasps nest we had in the roof space above our apartment was a wasps nest! To me it looked like a bit of squidged in expanded foam insulation/ sealant between the edge of the roof tiles and the floor. I worked up there quite a few days clearing stuff out without trouble. It was only afterwards that the electrician casually said he was surprised I wasn't bothered about being in close proximity to it :lol: The pest control man was summoned pronto.

His Lordships response was "oh, my God, what would have happened if you had prodded it" I told him that being a girl I don't feel the need to mess with stuff just for the sake of it. That's why more boys than girls are bitten by rattle snakes, girls hear the rattle and think "dangerous serpent, walk away slowly" boys "oh I wonder what happens if I poke it with a stick". Alcohol seems to be a factor too, and it isn't the reptile that's been drinking.

 

[stuart45]

Alcohol is usually the problem with wasps, as later on in the year they get drunk on the mature fruit. Next door keeps bees and has trouble with them coming into the hive after a good booze up. It takes 2 bees to kill a wasp.

 

[88v8]

There is a huge old wasp's nest in the attic here. Must be 2ft high. They never re-use old nests.

In our previous house, one year they nested in the attic twixt the ceiling and the insulation, a very flat, linear nest.
Another year they nested in the superstructure above our side gate. This was awkward, as the gate was 2.5" thick and correspondingly heavy and inclined to slam, which understandably upset them. Only got stung once, when one got tangled in my hair.

Wasps eat a lot of pests, and are part of nature's clean-up squad. I wouldn't kill them unless they actually set up shop inside the house. In the attic? They're welcome.

Ivor

 

[worms]

We have wasps curreently coming and going through a gap between the soffit and the cement tiles on the garage roof. No sign inside of where they are going, though, so further investigation will probably be left until after the first decent frost! Unless, I move something in there and make an unexpected discovery...

 

[JHD]

After a night spent in the spare room, I've been hunting around for the source of a buzzing noise that kept me awake. Initially I suspected the return of cluster flies, but have identified a colony of bees as the culprit. They've found a gap in the lead flashing around the chimney, and have got either into the top of the chimney or part of the loft near the chimney which I can't get to. I wish I could see what they're up to...

One thing I'll need to do after they've gone is fill the gap around the flashing, as they've kindly identified a spot where moisture could get in.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Clever Bees! Who needs Surveyors :roll:

 

[LadyArowana]

After a night spent in the spare room, I've been hunting around for the source of a buzzing noise that kept me awake.

Rabbits :wink: ?

 

[Me!]

:lol:

 

[Penners]

Took along a sample of a bee

That's a great idea in theory, but it's a real b*gger getting one of them to pee into a bottle.